Garment construction



May 22, 1956 H. s. HEILBRONNER 2,746,054

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed June 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HARRY5. HEILBRONNER ATTORNE Y United Stats GAnNmNr coNsrnUcrroN Harry S.Heilbronner, Perry, N. Y., assigner to The Perry Knitting Company,Perry, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 5, 1952, SerialNo. 291,897 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-S3) This invention relates to garments and,more particularly, to the variety known as childrens sleeping garmentsin which a body portion has a foot portion attached thereto andincluding a sole portion made of fabric for continuously enclosing thefoot. Textile garments with attached foot enclosures have beenheretofore subject to a number of objectionable features. For obviousreasons the sole of the foot of such a garment receives more severe wearand usage than any other portion of the garment and tends to rapidlywear out, while for equally obvious reasons the use of leather andflexible plastic sheets for such sole portions is not satisfactorybecause of the limited washability and pliability of such materials atnear boiling temperatures. Another defect of the prior constructions hasbeen excessive frictional resistance between the sole portion and afloor with the result of crowding the toes into the toe portion so as toproduce uncomfortable pressure and discomfort in walking. Another defecthas been the tendency of prior art sole materials to pick up and retaindirt which tends to increase such friction, as well as requiringfrequent washing.

One obiect of the invention, therefore, is to provide such a garmentwith an improved foot portion having a more durable and practical soleconstruction.

Another object is the provision of such a construction producing reducedfrictional resistance in contact with the floor while walking, but withsufficient frictional resistance in contact with the foot whilestanding, so as to provide greater comfort for the foot in both stanceand gait.

A further object is to supply a garment foot sole of the above characterhaving a reduced tendency to pick up and retain dirt and capable,therefore, of remaining relatively clean for a longer period.

Still a further object is to produce a garment foot construction havingthe above advantages and capable of being readily and economicallymanufactured and sold.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claim at the endof the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective fragmentary view of part of a garment having afoot portion embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 2--2 in Fig.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary schematic view of a portion of theoutsole in normal or unstressed condition;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, but showing the fabric asfrictionally stressed during walking;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary schematic plan view showing therelation of the loops of the outsole and insole fabrics under thepressure of the foot;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7 in Fig. 6,and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 8--8 in Fig. 6.

2,746,054 Patented May 22, 1956 The friction produced in the wearing ofa foot covering may be of two kinds or a combination of both. A child,while standing, applies a substantially vertical and stationary force onthe foot sole which develops sufficient friction by any slight movementso that the child can stand still without having its feet slideinadvertently out of place and in this may be referred to as staticfriction, to distinguish it from the somewhat different type encounteredin walking. When the child starts to walk, and most children walk with ashuflling style of gait, the more active motions of the feet generatewhat may be termed kinetic friction between the foot and sole andbetween the sole and the door. With the conventional type of footenclosure, the foot itself moves toward the toe part of the covering,leaving an empty space in its heel part. This produces excessivepressure against the toes of the foot which, if not relieved, builds upblood pressure and discomfort and may cause a distaste for walking.Eiorts have heretofore been made to develop a smooth-surfaced soleportion made from woven or knitted material capable of being readilywashed, but the use of such products has been characterized by ratherrapid disintegration of the material into a frazzled condition.

i have found that such defects can be overcome by adopting for thewalking surface, or outsole, a comparatively coarse knitted fabric madefrom synthetic polymerized plastic filament or spun liber which byreason of its method of production as an extruded filament has a nearlyperfect fibrous smoothness. This characteristic eliminates to a largeextent the resistance ofthe filaments to sliding contact with each otherand reshaping of the loops in the knitted construction, as more fullyexplained hereafter. l prefer to line this outsole portion with aninsole for engagement with the foot made from a piece of ordinaryknitted fabric with a mapped-up surface, if so desired, for contact withthe foot. This insures suicient frictional resistance between the footand the sole portions, while the loops of the knitted insole material,under the pressure of the foot, tend to dig into the loops of the coarseknitted plastic fabric of the outsole and thus limit sliding relocationbetween the insole and outsole.

When the child starts to walk, the lifting of the foot relieves thepressure from the insole and tends to separate vand loosen the gripbetween the insole and outsole. The foot tends to slip ahead in itsenclosure which yields more readily to such motion and reduces pressureon the toes of the foot, while the contact between the outsole and thefloor produces lessened frictional resistance because of the extremelysmooth surface of the plastic iibers of the outsole, and their tendencyto assume a generally parallel relation longitudinally of the foot, ashereinafter explained.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown at l0, Fig.l, a lowerV fragment of the leg of a knitted sleeping garment of thecharacter described, having secured to its lower end, as by flatstitching 11, a knitted foot portion 12. The latter terminates in a line13 extending around the perimeter of the foot and to its edge aresecured an insole 14 and an outsole i5. Preferably the upturned edges ofthe insole and outsole overlap the lower edges of the foot portion 12 onopposite sides thereof and are secured thereto by llat stitching 16, ofknown and suitable construction.

The insole 14 is preferably made of ordinary knitted fabric with theloops thereof extending longitudinally of the foot portion and with anapped upper or foot contacting surface 14a, as well understood in theart, to afford soft comfortable contact with the foot with somestabilizing frictional resistance to the movement of the foot over theinsole.

The outsole 15 is a coarse knitted fabric made with a syntheticpolymerized plastic filament or spun liber, made from Vinyon N (vinylresin), nylon, Dynel (copolymer of acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride),Orlon (acrylic iila-V ment), Dacron (polyester ber), or the like. TheseVsmooth laments or fibers 17, Fig. 4, are knitted in any known andsuitable manner, as represented diagramymatically in Fig. 4, whereV theyare shown in the normal unstressed condition. The knitted fabric ispreferably arranged overY the knitted insole with the loops, as 18,extending longitudinally of the foot portion. When this material isstressed by frictional Contact with the Hoor, the loops tend to assumethe stretched relation shown in Fig. 5 in which the arc portions of theloops are reduced in diameter while the sides of eachV loop Vareincreased in length and lined up in near parallelism with each other, soas to generally resemble a lattice structure, as shown in Fig. 5. Sucharrangement of the loops with the fllaments or bers extending in apredominantly longitudinal direction, combined with their smooth hardsurfaces, substantially Vreduces the friction or contact with theV floorand the derangement and pressure of the covering on the foot.

Such constant alteration of the shape of the loops has the furtheradvantage of reducing the tendency to pick up and 'retain dirt particlesbecause the changing shape of the loops Vtends to simultaneously loosenand shakeA out the particles, thereby maintaining the bottom surface ofVthe outsole in a cleaner condition and with lowered frictionalresistance for a longer period of time,

As stated earlier, when subjected to foot pressure as in walking, theloops of the knitted insole material tend to dig into the comparativelycoarse loops of the outsole Amaterial to restrain relative slidingmovement of the insole over the outsole. Fig. 6 shows the relativepositioning of the loops of the two fabrics under this condition. Thuswhen the smaller insole loops sink into the larger outsole loops, theloop ends of many of the insole loops will necessarily bear againstraised portions of the outsole loops so as to produce the restrainingaction described. This is clearly shown in Figs. 7'andr8. Y

While l have shown a garment foot portion as stitched to a garment leg,my invention is obviously capable of use with a foot portion detachablyassociated withthe garment leg, and with garments of either the knownone-piece or two-piece construction, The term yarn is employed in Vabroad sense in the appended claims as inclusive of both laments and spunfibers.

My invention thusV provides a garment foot portion with a fabric outsoleof highly durable qualityV and of such a character as to lessen thefrictional resistance in contact with the iloor in Walking, whilemaintaining sulcient fric- 4. tional contact between the foot and thesole portion for stability of position in stance. The changing loopshape of the knitted fabric tends to loosen and shake out dirt particlesand thus maintain the fabric in a cleaner condition for a longer periodof time. At the same time, the fabric combines good washability withabrasion resistance and the construction is one which is capable ofbeing readily and economically manufactured and sold.

lt will thus be seen that theV invention accomplishes its objects andwhile it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of apreferred embodiment, it is toV be understood that such disclosure isintended inran illustrative, rather than a limiting sense', as it iscontemplated that various modifications in the construction andarrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art,within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A garment comprising a body portion and a foot portion of fabricattached thereto and having an insole portion of ordinary knitted fabricwith the loops extending longitudinally of said foot portion and with anapped upper surface for contact with the foot, and an outsole of coarseknitted fabric made with synthetic plastic yarn and arranged with theloops of knitting extending longitudinally of said foot portion so as tobe alternately elongated by frictional contacts between the Vfoot andfloor and released between said contacts for return to normal shape, tointermittently vary the shape of said loops, and so that the loops ofthe knitted insole fabric coordinate under pressure with the loops ofthe outsole fabric to restrain slipping between said in'soleand outsole,said outsole having its edges extended substantially around theperimeter of the foot portion and turned upwardlyrin overlappingrelation therewith, and a line of stitching connecting `the upturnededges of said outsole to the perimeter of said foot portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS904,383 Velasko Nov. 17, 1908 1,293,399 Fry Feb. 4, 1919 1,913,270Fischer lune 6, 1933 2,188,265 Huels lan. 23, 1940 2,319,577 Bard et al.May 18, 1943 2,552,802 Martn May 15, 19,51

v 2,605,471 Kephart Aug. 5, 1952Y `2,616,084 Shearer Nov. 4, 1952

